


Between Two Places

by quwarichi



Series: TheirLoveWasReal, MOTHERFUCKERS [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Longing, M/M, TheirLoveWasReal, They're sad, somewhere in S14, thoughts while driving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:41:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29471877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quwarichi/pseuds/quwarichi
Summary: Driving always gets Dean thinking. What he thinks depends on whether the drive is long or not.Part of #TheirLoveWasReal Day 3: Liminal Space
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: TheirLoveWasReal, MOTHERFUCKERS [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160264
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9
Collections: Their Love Was Real: a Destiel & Saileen Fanworks Challenge





	Between Two Places

**Author's Note:**

> I have no understanding of liminal space, as a heads up. This is the best I could come up with after many google searches, discord discussions, and glaring at my keyboard. My beta, [GatorGirl2016](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GatorGirl2016/pseuds/GatorGirl2016) helped me make this coherent, so go give her [new fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28926645/chapters/70973202) (which I mostly prevented her from writing) out for the Destiny Big Bang. This one's a bit short, but I had very much to say on the subject of freaking liminal spaces.

Drives back from cases used to be incredibly long or extremely short for Dean.

A drive that felt too long happened when everything was crashing down around them. Crisis and apocalypses, all the crap weighing on their shoulders. Those were hours spent in stressed silence or arguing over how to handle the stress, making Dean wish they were at the bunker already. At the bunker, he had his memory foam and scotch and could spend hours glaring at the ceiling of his room and feeling himself crumble.

Drives were too short when the case was easy, and he and Sam could just relax, no crisis breathing down their necks. On those drives, Dean and Sam can just be themselves. They’d talk for hours, joke around, take turns driving and letting the other rest, or just sit in comfortable silence. Dean cherishes those drives, and he almost resents the sight of the bunker when he and Sam get back because that means their bubble is popped, and they are forced back to the real world, hooray. Short drives hadn’t been uncommon for Dean and Sam, but then things started changing, and suddenly they had so much more than just a short drive back to the bunker. 

It started when they got their mom back. After Mary came Jack, and after Jack, there was a slew of hunters from an Apocalypse world. Before Dean realized it, he had a family again. Now, drives back to the bunker are filled with anticipation to spend time with their kid and their mom, kicking back and relaxing, just enjoying being in the moment. 

Dean started looking forward to being back home, even more, when Jack would text him a selfie of him and Cas,  _ in the bunker _ , doing something as mundane as reading or eating. And maybe Dean drove a little faster whenever he got a photo like that, but sue him. Cas was rarely in the bunker for more than a few days at a time, and Dean’s not about to miss hanging out with his best friend by a few hours. When Cas is at the bunker, Jack is always cheerful, Sam has someone to engage in his hobbies with, and Dean-

Dean just has Cas. Cas, who could be sitting in the kitchen having a conversation with Sam about the size of atoms, would still look up and greet Dean when he walks in. Cas, who worries whether Jack should be watching a show with them or not because “it’s rated for over  _ sixteen _ , Dean, and Jack’s  _ two _ ,” but still lets the kid stay, covering Jack’s ears and eyes whenever there’s a moment on the screen he deems inappropriate. After everyone has gone to sleep, Cas has quiet conversations with Dean about all manners of topics and wishes Dean goodnight when he heads to bed. After those nights, Dean always wakes up to a Cas-less bunker feeling more alone than ever before and itching to get on the road.

It took Dean a while before realizing that the time spent on the roads was no longer what he enjoyed the most. Eventually, all drives turned into long drives because it meant he was away from the bunker. He found that the time between cases spent in the bunker was precious.

***

Castiel always considered driving to be much more boring than flying. It was a simple fact, an observation. It got slightly better when he learned more about music and found some songs he enjoyed listening to. No matter how enjoyable a song, Dean’s mixtape was always a favorite. Castiel had discovered that the only time driving wasn’t a tedious task was when the bunker was his destination. He always made a point to stop by and check on Jack and the Winchesters as frequently as possible. Being on the road, he was surrounded by silence, and, even with music, his thoughts would overcome him, attempting to drag him into their depths. When Castiel’s thoughts were close to consuming him, he’d change course and drive straight to the bunker, knowing that seeing Jack and Sam and  _ Dean  _ would make him feel much better.

Being around Dean always lifted Castiel’s mood. Dean was a glowing enigma, always dispelling the dark thoughts from the angel’s mind with a joke and a grin, and Castiel was forever grateful. He’d go to the ends of the Earth for Dean Winchester, and that thought was never as scary as it probably should have been.

Dean managed to keep the darkness away until Castiel had to leave again, and he always had to go. He was of no use to the Winchesters if he didn’t leave and find some way to help them, although it tore him apart to be away from his family. But he had to go because what he was doing ensured that his family was safe, so he accepted it.

But still, the time between arriving at the bunker and between leaving, that small space in time, the window of light, was all he needed.


End file.
